THE MIST (2007)

With special guest Gretchen McNeil

Intro, Math Club, and Debate Society (spoiler-free) 00:00-24:33
Honor Roll and Detention (spoiler-heavy) 24:34-1:08:31
Superlatives (so. many. spoilers.) 1:08:32-1:29:11

Director Frank Darabont
Screenplay Frank Darabont, based on the novella by Stephen King
Featuring Andre Braugher, Alexa Davalos, Jeffrey DeMunn, Marcia Gay Harden, Nathan Gamble, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones, Thomas Jane, Chris Owen, William Sadler, Frances Sternhagen, Sam Witwer

Released Nov 21, 2007
Budget $18 million
Box office $25.6 million US/Canada, $57.5 million worldwide

SPOILER-FREE SYNOPSIS

After surviving a torrential Nor’easter that rips parts of his home and adjoining properties to shreds, Bridgton, Maine resident and graphic artist David Drayton, his son Billy and wife Steff notice a strange fog rolling in on the lake behind their house. After confirming that his boathouse was crushed by neighbor Brent Norton’s old tree, a source of old resentments, David gathers Billy and Brent into his jeep and heads into town for supplies.  Upon arrival at the  local supermarket, The Food House, into which half the town seems to have crammed, it becomes apparent that the mist is no longer on the lake:  in fact, it’s now is at the doorstep of the supermarket.  Inside the store, we meet a gaggle of characters:  Ollie Weeks and Bud Brown, the store’s co-managers; Mrs. Carmody, a god-fearing woman who’s convinced that Man has brought shame and disgrace upon the world; feisty old Mrs. Reppler, who’s not a fan of Mrs. Carmody; locals Jim, Myron, Hattie, and Ambrose; and Dan Miller, whose frantic first appearance in the store heralds the danger to come.  For there are terrors lurking in The Mist, the stuff of Hieronymous Bosch nightmares, monstrous beings that make even the act of venturing outside dangerous and deadly, and perhaps portend the coming of the apocalypse.

SPOILER-FREE GUEST BIO

Gretchen McNeil is the author of several young adult novels for Disney*Hyperion and Balzer + Bray including Possess, 3:59, Relic, I’m Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Get Even, Get Dirty, and Ten, as well as the horror/comedy novels #murdertrending—the #1 YALSA Teens’ Top Ten pick for 2019— #murderfunding, and #noescape. Her most recent novel for Disney*Hyperion is Dig Two Graves, pitched as a YA Strangers on a Train; Three Drops of Blood arrives this March and Four-Letter Word in 2024. Gretchen’s books have been published in more than a dozen languages all over the world. Ten: Murder Island, the film adaptation of Ten starring China Anne McClain, premiered on Lifetime in 2017, and Get Even and Get Dirty have been adapted as the series “Get Even” and “Rebel Cheer Squad: a Get Even series” for the BBC and Netflix. Gretchen is repped by Ginger Clark of Ginger Clark Literary. Favorite recess snack: Handi-Snacks cheez n’ crackers.

EPISODE NOTES

Music from “The Mist” by Mark Isham.

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TRAILER

SUPERLATIVES

The Gaspar Noe Award for Most Disturbing Scene
Gretchen: Sally’s bloated death scene
Eric: The spiders burst out of the MP’s body in the pharmacy
Bradford: The final scene in which David kills his son and passengers

The Ellen Ripley Award for Character Who Most Deserves to Live
Gretchen: The biker who’s cut in half after trying to help everybody
Eric: Ollie Weeks
Bradford: Billy Drayton

The Michael Myers Award for Character Who Most Deserves to Die
Gretchen: Local bag boy Norm
Eric: Mrs. Carmody
Bradford: Mrs. Carmody

The Ken Russell Award for Most Baroque Screen Moment
Gretchen: The “mosh pit exit” of Pvt. Jessup from the store
Eric: The nighttime mayhem in the supermarket w/the birds & the bees
Bradford: The nighttime mayhem in the supermarket w/the birds & the bees

The Brad Dourif Award for Character Who Could Have Been Played by Brad Dourif
Gretchen: Jim
Eric: David, in his final moments after killing his son and the passengers
Bradford: Sally the cashier

FINAL LETTER GRADE

Gretchen: C
Eric: B-
Bradford: B+